By Chris Shelton
Camera Sports Writer

Turn on a highlight tape from Fairview's 1999 season and pretty soon members of this year's team stop lifting weights and gather around the TV.

Watching the big plays from the season in which the Knights won their first Centennial League title in 21 years, big grins start to appear on their faces and they edge a little closer to the TV. One player mutters under his breath that the video is pumping him up for the season, which begins with camp Aug. 14.

On the screen, the Knights see a cross-field touchdown pass by Craig Ochs. There goes D.D. Cox breaking through the line and rushing into the end zone. Then there are the monster hits by safeties Mike Corson and Philip Bland.

Bland hits one opponent so hard the player is left flat on his back, holding his head in pain.

Another Bland collision knocks the helmet off another victim.

The highlights are as impressive as the recognition these players have received.

This fall, Ochs will suit up for the University of Colorado, Cox will run for Oklahoma State and Corson will play for a perennial Division I-AA playoff contender, the University of Montana.

That leaves Bland, who will return to Fairview for his senior season. He is a preseason All-American candidate who attended a photo shoot this summer for ESPN.com and who is receiving the attention of the University of Southern California, University of Arizona, Kanasas State University and Notre Dame.

Even before Bland entered the halls of Fairview, football coach Tom McCartney had heard about this outgoing, friendly athlete.

"I definitely knew about him," McCartney said. "He had a reputation as being one of the top athletes in the area. I had heard this kid would be special — that he would play Division I football."

McCartney's source was Mike Bynum, who coached Bland and Bynum's son, Zach, when the two were 11-14 years old. When Bland was 11 years old, he impressed Bynum.

Bynum coached Bland through football, basketball and baseball and saw something he rarely sees in a young teen-ager.

"Certainly Phil is a gifted athlete," Bynum said. "It was apparent at a young age. But he aslo had the mental attitude that he was going to accomplish a lot and he wanted to do it."

Bynum has coached young athletes for 25 years in the Boulder area, and Bland was the first one he thought could play Division-I college sports.

"There weren't a lot of them that I had that strong an opinion about at that early an age," Bynum said. "But he was one of them. At least for me, I 've never made such a prediction about an 11-year-old.

"He's got a great attitude, he's a good kid and he's got some extra tools."

And Bland may just reach the Division-I ranks.

McCartney said USC wasn't even recruiting safeties, as the Trojans had all they needed. That is, until they saw Bland's videotape. Now Bland is reported to be one of USC's top recruits.

"It's great to be recognized in the preseason," Bland said. "But that's not my focus. My focus is strictly on this season. It's a great honor. But I don't lift weights to be a preseason All-American. There's no glory in being a preseason All-American if our team doesn't do well."

What also stands out about the 5-11, 195 pound safety who made 38 solo and 14 assisted tackles last season is not only his hard hitting, but his ability to make big plays on punt and kickoff returns.

When Bland was a sophomore, he came off the bench in the first game of the season and intercepted one pass and returned a kick to the opponent's 1-yard line. Bland became the starter the next week.

"That was the reason we promoted him," McCartney said. "But we do tease him that he only got to the 1."

Plus, Bland's hard-hitting style is contagious.

"He's a leader," McCartney said. "He brings the mentality of, we get upset if we give up a yard. You become a defense that thrives on the big hits. It fires up the defense and fires up the crowd."

Knockout-type hits feel good, too.

"It's awesome," Bland said of the feeling when he delivers a big blow. "Words can't describe what it feels like. Putting someone on their back is great. It's a rush. That's the stuff I live for."

Making a big hit requires timing and athletic ability, as well as the physical strength to finish the hit — attributes that are wrapped up into one explosive ball inside Bland.

But if there is one aspect of Bland's play that McCartney would like to see improved, it's would be for Bland to learn when to go for an interception instead of focusing solely on a big hit.

Bland couldn't agree more.

"That's something I fully understand and I'm definitely going to work on it," he said. "But quite frankly, I need to work on all parts of my game. I need to be faster and stronger. It's truly never ending if it's what you want to do."

Bland will also have to make an adjustment this season. He will be moving from free safety to strong safety. McCartney plans on starting senior J.D. Feeney at free safety this year.

"I really think they are interchangeable," McCartney said. "J.D. could have started there last year, there just happened to be two great players already there."

Bland said the biggest difference between the free safety and the strong safety is that he'll be more involoved in stopping the run.

"I'm excited about it," Bland said. "It'll be another position for me to learn. It'll make me more well-rounded."

In addition to moving Bland, the Knights will filling in holes left by the departure of players such as Ochs, Cox and Corson. Fairview returns five starters on defense and two on offense.

But Fairview has built up a solid program and McCartney predicts the Knights will be as strong as ever.

"Those numbers might be low, but we had a lot of juniors last year that have been waiting in the wings and now they're getting their turn," McCartney said. "We're not taking a step back."

In fact, the Knights plan on making another run for a state title, a drive that was cut short last year in the Class 5A quarterfinals when Columbine came back in the fourth quarter to win the game 21-17.

"That's a game I'll never forget," Bland said. "It's really frustrating to know we lost to the state champions when I thought, when I knew, we were the best team in the state."

Fairview will have a chance for revenge when the Knights take on Columbine in the second week of the season in a Sept. 8 home game. The season begins Sept. 1 at home against Coronado.

August 1, 2000